Posh Isolation (then and now)

[NaturalOrthodoxy]

Like (I assume) the majority of people on this forum, my interest in Posh Isolation has waned in recent years. But the oncoming autumn has brought some older releases back into rotation, as they seem perfect for this time of year. Releases like Croatian Amor - The World and Damien Dubrovnik - Europa Dagbog, as well as compilations like Port Out Starboard Home are a good mix of melancholy atmospheres, lofi textures, and ambiguous storytelling through interesting song titles. Let us not also forget all of the early Puce Mary material, Caucasian Colony, Sexdrome, Forza Albino, lofi black metal like Garotte and early Marching Church.

Croatian Amor especially were always a go-to band for me to listen to while commuting or for background noise at home as it was understated, minimal, and repetitive and seem to nicely imbue mundane domestic settings with some atmosphere. This is why I was sort of disappointed with the material after and including the 2016 album Love Means Taking Action. It was more polished, more technically accomplished, more "cut up" and therefore less of everything I wanted in that project (though I could appreciate it was an objectively well put together album).

Out of curiosity I checked out the newest album "All In The Same Breath" and found I could enjoy it as a totally new entity. Far more beat-driven, polished production, but still with an atmosphere that toes a line between melancholy and optimism. Similarly, their new collab with Scandinavian Star, entitled Two Autumns is concise, immediate, and atmospheric techno/ambient. Even all of the collaborations with Varg2TM have been hitting the spot.

In short, these new releases have prompted me to check out a load of newer Posh Isolation material I would previously had no interest in. Previously, the only project I'd really kept up with from the label was Vanessa Amara for being consistently morose and beautiful piano-led ambient. Maybe it's cos I'm no longer going in and expecting something in any way harsh and am now able to just appreciate it on its merits without disappointment that it's not what I had expected.

Has anyone else kept up with recent Posh Isolation material? Or perhaps used to be a fanatic and has now disavowed them?

I'm aware there are some previous threads about the label, but they were from quite some time ago and didn't particularly address the transformation of the label.

[Into_The_Void]

Used to like this label a lot back in the years, they released some excellent industrial / noise (included the masterpiece from Kommando RJF "Sweet, slow, suicide"). I was also into the first Varg and Croatian Amor stuff, when they used to be more low-fi and less club-oriented. Nowadays I don´t like the new label identity that much, neither in the label´s aesthetic, nor the "evolution" of most of the older projects (like for example the new Croatian Amor or Varg stuff).

[ConcreteMascara]

I was never a label fanatic but the releases were consistently good through 2014-2015. I felt the ethos was similar to Hospital Productions in that there were the major works which generally were very good and then lots of here and gone stuff that sketched out the developments in between the big releases. There were definitely gems among the sketches but for how quickly those tapes sold and for the prices they were re-sold, you'd think it was all solid gold and it's not. The style the label has now doesn't seem very shocking when you look at the whole trajectory, I'm just not into it for the most part.

Funny enough, I picked up the tapes from the first ever PI batch at Hospital way back when. I didn't think they were very good so I sold them a few years later, not knowing the cult that would surround the label soon after. I could probably get a pretty penny for them now, but their value is a collector's value, not based on the quality of the material itself.

[theworldisawarfilm]

Huge fan of the 'early years' but have found the new direction to be pretty alienating. Some Croatian Amor releases like The Wild Palms are among song of my favourite/most revisited electronic music period. Thought the latest Croatian Amor was quite shit but I'm interested to hear this most recent collaboration with Scandinavian Star.

[NaturalOrthodoxy]

I felt the ethos was similar to Hospital Productions in that there were the major works which generally were very good and then lots of here and gone stuff that sketched out the developments in between the big releases.

Yeah it's definitely a very Hospital-esque label. Even in that it is an entry point for a lot of people coming from other genres. I got into noise via black metal, but my brother who was getting deep into hip-hop as a teen while I discovered BM independently found Posh Isolation as a result of the wider electronic music scene. Interesting how we independently found the label with almost no music taste in common at the time.

Interestingly, Concrete Mascaara, it was your post in the playlist thread about Port Out Starboard Home that prompted me to spin some Croatian Amor.

[Warfare Noise]

I felt the ethos was similar to Hospital Productions in that there were the major works which generally were very good and then lots of here and gone stuff that sketched out the developments in between the big releases.

Yeah it's definitely a very Hospital-esque label.

Well, the very first releases of this label stole and repurposed layouts of another label, but it wasn't hospital.

[NaturalOrthodoxy]

Well, the very first releases of this label stole and repurposed layouts of another label, but it wasn't hospital.

do tell

[W.K.]

There should be an interview with them in one of the Special interest zines, I think number 7.

But old releases, yeah, great stuff!

 

[esoteric_criminal]

i was a huge fan of early material. what was not to like it was almost perfection at its best description. The early sexdrome, angry aryans, garrotte all had a raw atmosphere that only the likes of bone awl/raspberry bulbs did before. Over the years its been a huge disappoint, almost heartbreaking that the label is what it is now. I wish they would go back to their "mayhem" days but im afraid thats all done, new releases are tarnished to say the least. I have no interest in varg at all, dude is garbage. Loke will always be an excellent songwriter, his early work really spoke to me and alot of others i know but for me its a huge miss. Im a bigger fan of janushoved and mikkel but even the last few releases ive been done with.

[teenagelightning]

I still listen to first few Damien Dubrovnik full lengths, some of LR tapes, pre 2015 Croatian amor, Caucasian colony, war, old lfy tapes, port out starboard home comp. what they are doing now is clearly geared toward a different audience. Some of it is cool/good, just not my cup of tea, feels a bit sterile. But rather than people on here "disavowing them" it seems more like PI the ones want to distance from their PE and noise origins which contained some less than politically correct material..

[TS]

I concur with what seems to be the prevailing opinion here: some of the earlier releases are proper bangers. Especially Forza Albino - Black Dog is a favourite of mine. However, there has always to me been a sort of annoying "aloofness" to this label that I just can't shake. To be honest I'd I had mostly forgotten it.

[ConcreteMascara]

I would say of the new era I really like the Scandinavian Star album. It somehow feels like 'Virgins' era Tim Hecker meets Croatian Amor. Or maybe an alternate soundtrack to 'Neon Demon' by Refn. And "I Musik" by KYO is good too. As someone who listens to a lot of electronic music I can easily enjoy a lot of recent era PI material, but my issue is it doesn't really rock my world, it's just fine. And there's so much music out there that's better than 'just fine'.

[W.K.]

As someone who listens to a lot of electronic music I can easily enjoy a lot of recent era PI material, but my issue is it doesn't really rock my world, it's just fine. And there's so much music out there that's better than 'just fine'.

That's definitely true! But they had this underground aesthetic going which is more in vogue with the rock/indy/alternative/noise crowds than most electronic releases do.

[ekastaka]

PI's fall from grace is pretty interesting. Recently, stumbled upon what the label is up to these days.

https://youtu.be/2i3-f1soLH4

I try not to be too harsh or judgemental as its obvious the label is going for something completely different now. I can't help but think this is your average American Boomer's idea of Scandinavians.

I'm quite big on the early to mid period stuff. It evokes a sort of romanticism mixed with a healthy dose of self-indulgence/decadence. Main highlights for me are the Caucasian Colony tapes, Forza Albino - Black Dog LP, Var releases, LFY, Puce Mary stuff and Slaegt - Ildsvanger LP. A lot of the projects/artists associated with the label seemed to fall off along with the label itself. I'm still very into Puce Mary and LFY's current output, although those projects kinda transcended the label. As with the labels past, it seems like there's a somewhat conscious move for PI to move away from the more un-PC stuff as stated by others. Now they're into male ballet and black lives mattering. Whatever, people change.

On the bright side, there are people in Denmark continuing to release quality PE/noise such as Sektion 1 and Brutalist Tapes. Salutes to them.

[holy ghost]

Really into the Puce Mary records I've purchased from the label, I had a few others I had picked up, a comp LP with a naked dude on the cover holding a book? that was okay and a.... Croatian Amor LP? Looking at my discogs account they've clearly made it into my discogs sell pile as I haven't seen them in years.

tbqh I actually hadn't thought about the label in forever and didn't realize they were still around. Clearly they've shifted demographics (or I have refocused my interests) as I haven't heard anything about them for years until this thread popped up.....

EDIT: didn't realize they reissued the Sweet Slow Suicide LP - picked up the CD recently and would love to pick up an LP copy